Walsh Takes Center Stage as Ruthless Australia Sweep The Hosts Aside in First Ashes Match

England's attacking frailties were laid bare and capitalized on by a ruthless Australia as the visitors swept to a surprisingly comfortable victory in the first match of the rugby league Ashes series.

Shaun Wane’s side had talked at length about their drive going into the first Ashes for 22 years, and they were certainly not short on effort at Wembley. However, in the key instances, it was the world champions who showed more calmness in front of a historic crowd for an Ashes Test in the United Kingdom of more than 60,000.

Brilliant Display from Reece Walsh

Guided by an outstanding showing in offense and defense from club star Walsh, the Kangaroos were deserving and convincing winners in the opening Test of the three-match series, meaning England must triumph at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium next Saturday to sustain their hopes of a series victory since the 1970s.

England will have to be much better with the ball if they are to achieve that. On multiple occasions in the opening period, the hosts found themselves in advantageous situations but they were unable to cross for any tries. That was in large measure thanks to Reece Walsh, who pulled off two wonderful turnovers.

Crucial Plays of the Game

The first occurred as Farnworth seemed certain to put Young in for what would have been the first score, then Walsh stopped Mikey Lewis as the break neared. By then, the Kangaroos had taken the lead as Reece Walsh himself completed a excellent move.

Cleary added the extras before adding a penalty on the stroke of half-time to establish a eight-point advantage. It was a significant moment, as was the try for Angus Crichton soon after the resumption which made it fourteen to nil in favour of the visitors. England now had to cross the line thrice and that seemed to halt their drive.

Should there have been uncertainty about the winners, they were firmly put to bed with 15 minutes to go. Cameron Munster’s line break was supported by Crichton, who broke through Welsby for Australia’s third try.

That made it 20-0 and there was further humiliation in the final minutes as Walsh completed another breathtaking move, exploiting a weary and visibly shot England defensive line for his second try.

Final Score and Outlook

By then, home fans had begun to filter out and many missed Clark's late try, which at least prevented England being held to nil. However, there are plenty of questions for Wane to answer going into what is now a do-or-die Test next Saturday.

• Home Side: Full team lineup.
• Interchange: Bench players.
• Try: Daryl Clark.
• Conversion: Lewis.

• Australia: Starting lineup.
• Interchange: Dearden, Collins, Cotter, Koloamatangi.
• Tries: Reece Walsh (two), Angus Crichton (two).
• Kicks: Cleary 5.